Is MUMENTOUS about more than homecoming mums?

audio version

transcript

Yes.

Women are society’s tradition-keepers, so whether we’re talking about mums or Christmas trees or packing up the kids to go to Grandma’s house every year, chances are there’s a matriarch making it all happen. If it weren’t for women, there wouldn’t be homecoming mums let alone a book or blog about them.

“grandpa and me” © Amy J. Schultz (photo presented in black & white to give it a nostalgic look)

In MUMENTOUS, I dive into the 100-year evolution of the homecoming mum tradition as well as where it stands in Texas today. My research into the history of mums surprised me at every turn.

Homecoming mums taught me how team sports have become platforms for self-expression; how women defend traditions in our society, even those they don’t entirely understand; how our culture today relies so heavily on commemoration to move kids through their childhoods; and through their willingness to cooperate rather than compete with each other, how women-owned small businesses have turned homecoming mums into an industry that churns hundreds of millions of dollars through the economy every year.

According to Jadidsa Perez of Independent Book Review, MUMENTOUS is for anyone who not only wants to take a deep dive into a fascinating regional tradition but into a larger societal zeitgeist.

Personally, I hope you find the combination of my photography and narrative in MUMENTOUS entertaining, thought-provoking, humorous, and heartfelt. Especially the heartfelt part. High school should be the time a young person starts getting fitted for the liveries of their adulthood, while still allowing them to embrace a few more sweet opportunities to play dress up like a little kid. Homecoming mums are simply one way to do that.

“Through polished and skillful writing, the author immerses in the mum world for a moment, like attending a homecoming game. There’s a sense of excitement here as the reader anticipates each new story that will come…Schultz raises so many fascinating points regarding not just mums, but the larger societal zeitgeist. The link between post-war patriotism and the cultural shift toward sporting events is particularly enlightening…There is no bell, ribbon, or whistle that Schultz does not uncover about the mum and the immense effort is apparent.”

- Independent Book Review by Jadidsa Perez